Obviously, right?  Most people who interact with me on a daily basis do so because we share a similar trial through cancer.  Others have their own hardships and difficulties they’ve encountered along the way.  Because my story was cancer doesn’t make it any more or less valid than what you’re going through personally.

Lately, I’ve been looking at the journey I’ve been on these last 4+ years of running Gamerosity and it’s blown my mind just how much the responsibility of leadership and purpose have changed me.  TimeHop is probably one of the most useful apps I have on my phone.  For so many, it’s an opportunity to revisit just how much their children have grown, for others, how much weight they’ve gained/lost, and others it’s a chance to see how much they’ve grown personally.  While the first two apply in my life, it’s the latter, seeing how much I’ve grown personally, that keeps me coming back to that app and keeping my daily streak alive.

Oh man, was I dramatic.  I mean, you think I’m dramatic now, it was pretty bad in the past.  Doubt and frustration and faithlessness looking for something to dig in to.  The easy thing to say is that Gamerosity gave me purpose and is why I have my stuff together today.

But it’s a lie.

At least the “have my stuff together today” part.  Every day is a challenge.  Every day I find myself doubting my purpose, fighting my doubt, and overcoming frustration.   Some days, I fail.  Some I win.  But every day I move forward.

I’m calling it “Smile & Error.”  Clever, I know.

I’m a broken man.  As I type this, I’m scrambling to pick up the digital pieces of our charity and find reasonable, sustainable solutions that help us accomplish our goals.

On the surface, Gamerosity is thriving more than it ever has.  Kids are leading other kids!  Hero Packages are getting funded!  GameOn Day Wisconsin is funded!  I just had a meeting for GameOn Day Portland about getting inflatables funded which went really well.  But underneath the surface, I had plans for this charity for 2017.  Great ones!  Unique ones that would reinforce the overall health and sustainability of our charity.  I spent hundreds of hours planning through it and even designing the processes for this to become a reality and yesterday I finally had to accept the fact that things aren’t going to happen the way I planned and I’ll have to start over.  My heart is broken and yet, I’m reinvigorated to find new solutions to overcome these issues.

You can be sad and excited at the same time.  Setbacks don’t mean failure and delays aren’t permanent unless you let them define you.

There’s so much… LIFE in this life.  So many opportunities to learn through Smile & Error.  You have to seek out new opportunities to grow and improve no matter the setbacks you face and the walls you have to hurdle.  If you don’t, you’ve already lost.  Life will not give you the answers, you have to seek them, and not just seek them, but fight for them.  I guess the point of this is to encourage you to rejoice despite your sorrow and move forward no matter how much life’s disappointment tries to paralyze you.

There will be hard times and failure even after you “figure it out” because that’s just the way of the world.  Smiling through these things isn’t my literal point, it’s a mindset that you’re willing to overcome whatever adversity comes your way.  Because, trust me, I’m not physically smiling right now.  If anything, in this moment, I’m more so snarling in the corner of a dark room.  The implication, however, is that we not only can be gracious in the process, we have to be.  Choose to extend grace to those you may not feel deserve it, and receive grace to those you encounter that offer it because you’re gonna need it if you’re going to get through this life.

Man, the stories I could tell you of interactions I’ve had with other individuals, businesses, and even charity leaders.  The different ways I’ve been burned in the last few years both personally and professionally, it’s insane.  If only you knew…  But that’s my point, redemption doesn’t come exclusively in our “doing” it comes in our perseverance and tenacity.  Because once we begin working through these emotions in a positive way, you will still come across adversity from those you least expect it.  And if you’re not in the right mindset, it will break you. Don’t let it.  Smile & Error.  Learn from it, pick yourself up, and keep moving forward.  Don’t throw people under the bus, instead, extend grace.  The biggest gift I’ve ever given is not sharing some of the worst offenses against me with anyone else.  There’s my smile.  There’s the grace I get to extend.  And as awesome as that grace is, it doesn’t hold a candle to the grace given me by my Father in Heaven.  It’s hard for me to hold offenses against others when I look at things from that perspective.

What a lovely gift.  Grace.

And while you’re scraping and clawing and failing and succeeding on this road to purpose, understand that everyone else is doing the same.  Don’t let them give up, either.

I know what I’m supposed to act like.

I know the rules of this gig. I’ve spent my whole adult life preparing myself to live up to some sort of leadership position.

I’ve sat under dozens of leaders (some more leadery than others) who’ve handled their positions of leadership in various ways to set the good and/or bad example. Some faked it so well they spent decades fooling their following into one ideal or another. Others have done the complete opposite and care so deeply, give so generously, lead so faithfully they continue to inspire all who come in contact with them.

And then there’s me.

I’ve been using the hashtag #AccidentalLeader lately. For one, I love clever hashtags. Won’t take much to get me wanting to put something on a t-shirt! But for another, I honestly feel this is the role I’m living out at the moment.

I’m neither qualified nor deserving of the position I’ve been put in as the voice people hear when they press “play” in a Gamerosity video. I’m just some guy who got Stage 4 cancer when he was 15 and spent the better part of his adulthood trying to move on from it. I’m known as a cancer survivor yet most of my survivorship was trying to forget that time of my life (obviously only to have it coming back and becoming a major part of my life presently). This is, by and large, why I think it’s ridiculous to make Gamerosity about me; my only merit is having been through what these children are going through today.

I didn’t start Gamerosity because I somehow achieved great perspective in my life and therefore ready to show the world my greatness, I started it out of a inescapable compelling. I had to respond to this feeling in my heart. The results of that response, with the support of so many other people, has led me to this place.

Where is this place?

I can’t quite describe it. There’s a conscious awareness that the things I write have meaning, influence, and purpose in the lives of others. That comes with this heavy responsibility to ensure that my words are short and purposed. There’s a mutual trust between myself and those who respond to the things I write. I can’t break that trust.

How can I look upon this responsibility and take advantage of others from it? I can’t. I won’t. Ever.

Maybe that’s what leadership is. Maybe it’s a bunch of “what the heck do I say?!”‘s going on and I’m just one of them. I doubt it, but maybe? If it is, I guess I feel a lot better right now because, for the most part, before I address anything controversial going on with Gamerosity, I be sure to run it by Combsy and Carlos before it posts. More often then not, I find myself changing direction altogether on my position and taking their advice.

And lately, there’s been a lot of me having to go to these guys before I respond to something. I think that’s what this post is about, maybe.

Gamerosity is growing, there’s no denying that. Our following isn’t “huge” by comparison to others, but it’s strong. Super strong. And fairly ubiquitous, which is kind of cool. But also terrifying.

I get to have interactions with people who are just now learning about Gamerosity who have no idea of the journey it took to get where we are. They don’t know why we don’t share certain things, why we don’t say certain things, why we post what we post. They simply hold us to the typical “non-profit/charity” measuring rod that people have used their whole lives and wonder why we’re not like them. It’s cool, I understand this comes with the territory, but guess who has to answer those questions? Yeah, this guy. And while some people believe they’re the first person to give a percentage of their sales to Gamerosity in exchange for promoting their “event” on our Facebook page (I simply can’t turn Gamerosity into an ad page.), I’ve made promises.

I’ll never marginalize anyone’s efforts, that’s not my point. I think my point is that I have to answer to all of these inquiries as though they’re the first to approach us. Not for any other reason but the fact that people deserve to be appreciated for caring about our Charity. How do you do that without sounding condescending or scripted? Yeah, I don’t know either. I just try to be real.

It just seems like people expect so much more. It’s simple. Do you want to help the work we’re doing at Gamerosity? Cool. Do something about it with the time you have available.

You want me to do something about it? I’m sorry, I already am.

Gamerosity isn’t my playground, it’s my passion. I wanted to do something so I used the time I had, volunteered, put forth an effort, assembled a team, and pushed as hard as I could to show it to the world. If I fail, I fail.

At the end of the day, I’m just a graphic designer who works for a screen printing company and moonlights as an Executive Director.

I don’t know if those are the “words to say” and I don’t know if that was very leadery, but I do know that if I and a group of my friends can do something special in our free time, you can do anything you want if your motives are right. And yeah, your motives do matter.

I want to help kids with cancer know they’re loved and valued. Those are my motives. Not to be famous. Not to get rich. Not to have followers or to gain your respect. I don’t need to be affirmed or coddled. I just need you to buy a shirt and use our platform.

“Yes, Dada.”

Over and over again, this was the challenge I set before my 7 year old son, Malachi throughout our #MunozFamilyStaycation this weekend.  Too often he asked “Where are we going next?!” WHILE we were doing something awesome as a family.  The kid is so used to surprises from his parents, sometimes he forgets just how rad his life is in that moment!  So right from the get-go, it became very clear what the theme was going to be throughout the weekend; Enjoy the moment.

If you know me or follow me at all, you know my life is pretty jam-packed with a little bit of EVERYTHING!  I co-own a graphic design and screen printing company.  I’m the Executive Director of an ever-growing charity.  I coach youth sports.  I play rec-league softball… you get the idea, lots of things, busy life, all that jazz.  Well, I took a look at my schedule and realized that we only had ONE WEEK in-between Malachi’s basketball and baseball season (not including Easter weekend), and then after baseball season is the crazy Gamerosity season where things pick up.  We HAD to do something as a family this weekend before life gets crazy again!

So I hit up AirBNB, jump on Hotwire.com, cruise through VRBO, and all of these sites to see where the best, most convenient place to best serve our family.  In the end, it was going to cost at least $380 just get a place for two nights for our family, not including gas, food, and entertainment.  By the time I added everything up, you’re looking at $800-$1000 for a family of 4.  Money we didn’t have.  I knew that if I spent that money, we’d spend the next couple months regretting those expenses, believe me, I’ve been there.

So I had to look at my options.

Cat didn’t want to cook all weekend, because what kind of vacation is that?!  And really, a hotel or room that we’d rent is essentially saying, “I don’t want to cook, clean, or make my bed.”  No problem, we won’t do any of that!  How about… We just stay local, do some rad stuff together, and then come home at the end of the night to sleep?  Cat was down, so was I.  Let me just say, we had a blast!  Cat and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the weekend, even if it didn’t quite go as planned.

But there’s no way that would’ve happened if we didn’t stick to the rules.

ENJOY THE MOMENT
This obviously goes without saying.  Kinda.  You have to keep saying this to yourself over and over again.  Our culture has influenced us to measure joy by quantity, not quality, don’t let that happen.  Soak up each moment.  Remember the little things.  The way your girls’ hair flows in the wind.  The way your boys tongue sticks out when he colors.  The way your wife tries to physically absorb every ounce of sunlight.  These are the things stay hidden in your heart.  Don’t miss this because you might be late for a movie.  There’s always another movie.

STAY OUT OF THE HOUSE
Staycations aren’t often successful because it’s incredibly easy to “fall in line” and just simply do what you do every single weekend, so it’s really important to keep to your convictions about GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE!  If you don’t, you’ll find you and your family huddled around a TV, in your sweats, wasting away the day.  Don’t do that, at least, not during the day.

THE PLANS ARE MORE LIKE GUIDELINES
Your family is living and breathing, your plans should be, too.  This means, it’s wise to have a “heading” with the understanding that you may go off course, but that’s okay!  You want some room to breath. This is about your time together, not how many things that can get done in one day.  So, if lunch goes long or the kids want to swing a little more on the playground, that’s fine, just roll with it.

ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES
The plan was to stay in Ashland. We’d wake up late, go to Morning Glory for an amazing breakfast, then have the kids watch the ducks and play at the playground at Lithia park.  After Lithia park, coffee and treats at Mix for a bit before we head back up to hike Lithia Park leading to an early dinner at Caldera.  Easy peasy.  But the night before I remembered that I committed to attending a 3rd party Gamerosity fundraiser event a friend was putting together.  No problem, we’ll just head to their fundraiser after Mix, and then, depending on the time, we’d head back to Ashland, or go to Rogue Air Park so the kids can jump around and have fun!  Well, this photo was taken moments before Natalia accidentally got double-bounced and sprained her ankle.  It was a freak accident but my poor baby doesn’t do pain very well.  We knew that it probably wasn’t a break, but it would definitely include a doctor visit to make sure there’s not ligament or hairline fractures we’re not noticing.  Poor baby, we felt terrible for her.  This obviously meant no Rogue Air Trampoline Park, and definitely no out-to-dinner event.  We got Talia to the house to get some Tylenol and get her foot elevated.  How do we roll with this?  I asked myself, “Is this it?  Is our Staycation over?”  I grabbed a sheet and laid it out on the grass in the backyard and hung out with my Puggle Dash while we figured out how the rest of our vacation was going to go!  We decided it must go on!  I put on Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip (It was about 6pm by this time) and Cat picked up some Outback Steak House and brought it back.  We just rolled with the punches and we still had a great time together!

ONLY PAY CASH
This is a really wise idea.  I’m not Dave Ramsey.  Not even a little bit.  But the whole cash system is brilliant, especially on vacations.  It’s so easy to overspend with a debit card, but even easier with a debit card on vacation!  I pulled out about $600 cash, just to have on hand.  Each day, I put a specific amount in my pocket based on the expectations for that day (plus a little more, just in case).  There’s something very sacrificial about paying cash!  You see it go from your pocket, to the cashier, and out of your life!  It’s not like your debit card gets smaller every time you use it, you know?  It’s a great way to keep track.

NO ONE SAID YOU CAN’T GO TO SOMEONE ELSES HOME!
Saturday, just after Talia sprained her ankle, we received a text from a friend inviting us over for a BBQ.  I asked Cat, she shrugged her shoulders and said “Sure!”  Their kids are teenagers and they took care of our kids while we hung out with the adults and had a blast!  I can probably honestly say that we wouldn’t have gone there had we had a “normal” weekend where all I probably would have wanted to do is take the after-church nap!

IT’S NOT BEING CHEAP IF IT’S THOUGHTFUL
Parks are free.  Hiking is free. And most of the time, it’s these free things that bring out more of the beauty of your family than the things you pay for.  What do you learn about your family if you’re all staring at a movie screen?  Seeing how hard Malachi could push himself to reach the top of Roxy Ann, or seeing Natalia appreciate the beauty of our Valley from our vantage point are priceless.  Having moments where I get to see my wonderful family’s individual characteristics are wonderful!  Seeing the joy in Malachi’s face when we reached the top was really special.  Cracking jokes with Cat about inside things are free.  Laughing together with your best friend is super special.  Watching Natalia conquer her fears with the “big slide” or seeing the kids spin themselves in circles at the Playground… those things, you’ll never find out about your children by handing them a tablet so you can get 10 more minutes of nap time (we’ve all been guilty of that!).

Overall, In a weekend that included late breakfast’s, lots of coffees and chocolate milk stops, dinners out, snacks, Family Fun Center, lots of walking, a doctor visit, and a whole lot of unforgettable, special moments, we spent $405 this weekend.  Super reasonable all things considered.  Our lives are getting simpler as they’re getting busier.  I’m learning more and more about my quirky 7 year old boy and my precious 5 year old girl.  I’m sharing some special memories with my wife and am enjoying a relationship with her that I never thought I’d have.  She’s incredible and I’m so thankful she can dress up and do some fancy things with me, and she can be so easy going and enjoy the simple things.

You can’t look ahead and you can’t worry about how things may have been in the past.  You have to enjoy this moment right here.  Don’t worry about the next thing, excel at being present in this moment and find something meaningful to capture from it.  I guess I can thank Malachi for making me realize how important not looking for the “next thing” is from the very beginning!

I don’t think I’ll ever forget his reaction.

My little brother works for me at our screen printing and graphic design company.  He has a ridiculously difficult job of making me happy in a detail oriented trade.  Honestly, he’s underpaid (most days) and has made major sacrifices to be a part of our company.  Most days, I forget he’s my brother during the day, we’re co-workers in the chaotic grind of our production schedule and our relationship Monday through Friday becomes more about business than anything else, so when he left for the day it was business as usual.

So why would an overworked and underpaid younger brother stick around a company that keeps him in a dark room covered in ink most of the day?  Probably love, and I think the fumes have maybe given him a co-dependency on the work environment.  Also, for consistent work, we’re usually fairly lenient on allowing him follow his passion with music.

As long as I remember him having a personality, he’s always been into music.  It’s his identity, it’s a part of who he is and in this case, word on the street is, he’s second to none on the bassoon, a bong-like instrument of bassy proportions.  He’s fantastic at it and it’s the biggest part of his life.  He’s not a rich man, he doesn’t have a whole lot of possessions and his most valuable possession doesn’t even belong to him, it’s property of SOU.

And in one fell swoop, a stranger broke into his car, crawled through the back where it was concealed, and stole it from his life.

He came back to the shop in a complete panic, hyperventilating and hysterical.  My heart fell to my stomach, I thought maybe he got jumped or hit by a car.  I was on the far side of the shop and didn’t see him, but only heard his exclamations as I rushed over to see what happened and where the blood is.  He finally communicated that his car was broken into and his bassoon is nowhere to be found.  (I want to get back to this and the point of my post, but first, I don’t want you distracted with whether or not his bassoon was recovered.)  What followed was hours of processes that must take place when your property is stolen; police reports, insurance calls, various phone calls to pawn shops and music stores, and of course prayer.  Later, around 6pm, he received a phone call that his bassoon was recovered in a dump after the thief was chased by a music store employee.  Order was (relatively) restored.  His $15,000 bassoon was back in his possession.  Hugs were exchanged, thanks were given, and dinner was eaten together as a family with much thanksgiving.

But I’m left with unresolved emotions.

And while I’m sure my brother no doubt has things going through his mind about his personal property, I still envision my younger brothers’ moment of panic and heartbreak with what was more than likely the most devastating tangible loss of his adult life.

He moved up to Oregon to start a new, better life.  I promised my dad I’d look after him and make sure that he’d never go without.  I’m his big brother and I saw my little brother get robbed of not just a possession but what would have potentially ruined his relationship with a school that has provided a platform for him to live out his passion.  And because my Facebook post had 50+ shares on it, I have absolutely no doubt that this thief has somehow ran across my shared post and still, in his own personal greed and self-preservation, scratched off the serial numbers of that bassoon in an attempt to sell it off for personal gain.

I assume crime is easy when you steal from the faceless.  I mean, who is my brother to this guy, anyway?  Was he just another mark?  Or did he see an opportunity because he doesn’t have an alarm system on his very basic, very standard vehicle and just happened upon his instrument?  Whatever it is, this person walked away with literally the one thing that would’ve broken my brothers’ heart.

I want to hate him.  When my brother got the call it was recovered, I had every curse word imaginable invading my heart.  I was a mix of elation and rage.  Relief and revenge.  I wanted to find this person and let all my instincts take over for what he did to my brother.

I want to hate him.

But I can’t.  Because I am that person.  I didn’t rob a car or steal someone’s possessions, but I am dead in my own sin:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  Ephesians 2:1-3

Who am I but someone who was once unredeemed?  Uncalled.  Unawakened.  How can I hate this person when I know that I was once dead in my trespasses once and by the grace of God, I die daily.

I have new reasons to love because I am so unlovable in my heart of hearts and yet still, I am loved by God.  That passage above goes on:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” Ephesians 2:4,5

Oh man… “But God…” is right.  I love this thief that tried to ruin my brother’s life because of “But God.”  God is rich in mercy and I am His, how can I not extend mercy?  God has a great love that he loves us with in our darkest moments, how can I not love the unlovable?  I went from death to life, how do I dare curse the dead?

I can’t.  I won’t.  I love this person because, if God wills it, maybe I can call this person “brother” instead of “thief”…

I think that’s what #LoveRecklessly is about.  It’s unquantifiable, unqualifiable, unconventional.  Because God’s love is unconditional.

***Sidenote***
I can see how, if you don’t hold to my faith/worldview that perhaps I’m equating theft with all non-believers, please know my heart, that my intentions are not to shame anyone, but to promote love and even inclusion as my faith is the lens by which I view eternity.

My husband DJ and I spent more than eight years exploring before we decided to have our first child. After we had Ezekiel, we didn’t want to stop exploring. We were determined to raise a child who would love to travel and want to see the world. So, we kept traveling.

Since Ezekiel was born in January, he’s seen New York City, Pittsburgh, Boston, Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, five baseball stadiums, and we’re still going!

Every time we come back, I get asked how the Boy did. The answer is always the same, “He was awesome, he loved it.”

People often ask how we do it with an infant. Here are some of our philosophies on traveling with an infant.

Anticipate

I am a pretty neurotic planner. I make lists for everything. Traveling with an infant takes a lot of forecasting. Not only what you should bring, but where you put everything when you’re loading the car up. We plan for having to feed him when there are no rest stops for miles. We’ve developed this system where I climb in the back and the dog has to climb up front. It’s pretty impressive. Anticipate your needs. Anticipate the kid’s needs. Anticipate your stops for gas, bathroom breaks, feedings. It mentally prepares me for the trip we are about to take and if I can plan ahead, when an explosive diaper comes along the way, I know that I have to reach behind the driver’s seat to grab the diaper changing clutch and start setting up in the passenger seat, while my driver grabs the Boy. We’re like a baby pit crew.

Stay Awake

Before we take off, we always make a stop to top off on gas and grab snacks for the road. While we wait for gas, we also surf Audible for an audiobook. We buy snacks and drinks for every possible situation, water for hydration, coffee and tea for caffeine, and an energy drink or two for the wee hours of the morning.

When it was just the two of us, we really pushed ourselves to get places as quickly as possible. Now that we have Ezekiel, we are more responsible, we rest more often, we take naps at rest stops, because we don’t want to chance falling asleep at the wheel.

Find what works for you. We leave in the middle of the night to bypass any possible traffic. DJ drives through the night because he’s the night owl, and I drive in the morning because I am the early bird.

Sempre Gumby

Remember when I said I was pretty neurotic when it came to planning things? I like it when things go according to plan. But, sometimes, they don’t. So, sempre Gumby!! Stay flexible.

You have to decide which is more important for your trip: the time you arrive to your scheduled destination, or the experiences in getting there.

We were trying to make it back to Maryland from Virginia before rush hour, but we saw a civil war battlefield and stopped. There was also a park ranger there and he was about to start a tour of the grounds. We looked at each other and asked, “What do you want to do?” We chose to stay for a bit to hear the story of what it would’ve been like to see the Union Army come out of the woods and down the hill. (Then I had to drive, because DJ hates sitting in traffic.)

You have to be willing to abandon your lists and plans and time tables to get what you were really looking for — quality time with each other, sights, sounds and adventure.

Relax

DJ is always telling me to chill out. I am pretty high-strung. Remember what I said? Neurotic. He constantly reminds me that I should live in the moment. I should stop taking pictures and just experience the sight of God’s creation. I should stop Googling what happened at the historic site and just look around and take it in. Vacationing is about relaxing and recharging your heart, mind, and soul.

Enjoy it.

Embrace it.

Don’t rush through it.

What about you?  Have you decided to travel the country with your little one?  Do you have any tried and true pieces of advice to give?  COMMENT below and share, we’d love to hear!

Here’s what we don’t see:  The Journey.  We love our stars, we idolize our mentors, but long before they’re spotlighted in your favorite magazine, blog, or movie, they’re finding their way, living their struggles, and writing their story.

And I LOVE that!

That means, (wait for it), you are in the middle of your story!  You’re not at the finish line, you and I are smack dab, perfectly right where we need to be.  And to be honest, I’m glad we don’t start at the finish line.  I’m glad people can’t look at me and see a finished product.  I’m so grateful we get to live out each day, living, listening, loving, and learning from the lessons we encounter.

I don’t need to be strong, I need to be in progress.  That’s what Love Recklessly is… It’s the beauty in the chaos, the process of loving others and stepping back from ourselves and into a life of purpose.  I don’t want unshakeable faith… I want a shakeable faith, one that is always tested.  From trials to opportunities to setbacks, it’s all shaking up the way we approach the reality of who we are in light of who God is.  Here are 4 ways we shake up our faith:

Living

You don’t know what you believe till you get out there and have your worldview challenged.  Meet new people, give to the needy.  Lend your time, talents, and treasures to perfect strangers.  Go on a spontaneous trip.  Go a day without your cell phone and take in the energy of the world around you.  Seriously.

Listening

Be intentional about the lives of others.  Ask questions.  Find out what peoples’ back stories are.  Where do they come from?  What do they love to do?  What’s their story?  You’ll find out so much from this.  They’re human, they’re different than you, and most of all, you need to love that person because these encounters are divine appointments.  You’ll become vulnerable from these encounters, but that’s the point, it’s no longer “just you and Jesus”… it’s you, Jesus, and the rest of the people He created.

Loving

That homeless guy.  That moody lady.  That dirty child.  That person with a disability you don’t understand.  Mark Driscoll calls these people “Image Bearers” and it shakes me to my core.  These people bear the image of God, yet we treat them like objects.  Stop seeing them as objects, start seeing them as preciously, fearfully, wonderfully made people deserving of your respect and reckless love.  Start doing it and watch it shake you.

Learning

Take all these encounters and begin every thought with the reality that you don’t have it all together.  And that’s fine.  What did you learn about your faith from stepping up, stepping out, and caring for those you wouldn’t normally care for?
I think too often, we like a watered down, good-enough version of our faith.  We like having an ambiguous faith that can get us out of a bind, but not necessarily disrupt our daily lives.  I’m not sure that’s how God designed a relationship to be.  It has ups and downs, twists and turns, and is meant to constantly examined and re-examined.  And none of that is bad.  Sometimes you’ll have doubts, and sometimes you’ll know without a doubt that you’re serving a greater purpose, but never will you ever need to worry about having it together.

Love Recklessly isn’t about the finish line.  I’m still in the race trying to figure out if I’ll ever make it.  I want you to run your race alongside me.  I want to encourage you to endure, while you help correct my form.  We’re in this together.  For better or for worse, let’s shake up our faith and let iron sharpen iron and finish strong.

You ever hit a point where you held yourself hostage to this image of strength you tried to portray?  How did you overcome that?  What advice do you have for those who are dealing with this?  Comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

But this brings about the question, “What’s ‘Love Recklessly’ and what place does it have among these other philosophies?”

Well, if you’re reading this, chances are you know WHO I am.  You know I’m a cancer survivor, a graphic designer, a dad, a husband, a Christ follower, and more than likely, you know I’m the Founder and Executive Director at Gamerosity, although you’d never hear me call myself that… I tend to just go by, “Head Cancer Hater at Gamerosity” because titles can really be uninviting.  I “qualify” myself as these things to set the table for the fire that burns within my heart.  Along my journey, I’ve learned that the sweetest of moments are when we allow ourselves to Love Recklessly.

I don’t mean “love” in the romantic, relationship context, I mean it in every other context.  See, reckless love means we’ve put our guard down, we’ve opened ourselves up to be transparent and along with that, we’ve opened ourselves up to be vulnerable.

The humanity within us will never enjoy being vulnerable, and why would we?  We’ve been burned too many times to rest our joy, reputation, and dreams in the hands of another.  But that’s the point.  When the Team and I began Gamerosity, I had to make a choice as to HOW I was going to love the children we serve.  Was I going to protect myself from the pain that comes with working with childhood cancer kids or was I going to be reckless and let my emotions show? How do I make such a decision rationally?  How do you?  Honestly, I can’t say I have a 3-Step-Program to loving recklessly, I can simply list a couple realities I’ve experienced as a result of letting go. And maybe they’ll help you in your journey.

Loving Recklessly will show the world your humanity

Maybe that’s a problem for you, but doing so will eventually ease the pressure of being the “bulletproof leader” you and I both know we can’t live up to.  Now, you’re free to be you AND lead leaders.

Loving Recklessly will cause those you serve to love you back

Authentic love is often reflected, rarely appreciated, but ALWAYS apparent.  Your motives will always be questioned if you treat your Cause as an ad campaign, but if you care without holding back, the ones you serve see it exactly for what it is, and they love you for it.  And that is value that can’t be purchased in a 10-step program.

Loving Recklessly will make you experience every drop of emotion

Yes, even the tough ones. Running the gamut of emotion is a place that we often avoid.  It leaves us open and vulnerable and that’s uncomfortable.  But break those walls down, care for those who are hurting without your guard up and allow yourself to be vulnerable.  Yes, care for that dying child, get to know them, watch the painful moments, and be there for the joyful ones.  It’ll leave you with scars, but it’ll also remind you of the beauty of humanity.  It will break you down, challenge you, and sometimes it’ll bury you in some of the deepest heartache you’ll ever experience.  It’ll also give you an opportunity to be critical part of a person’s life like you can only experience through reckless love.

Loving Recklessly will change your Mission Statement.  Forever.

If you can do it.  Do it.  There’s no itinerary for life change, there’s only spontaneous, whimsical engagement.  No longer will the banks of the river be reinforced with logic-driven guidelines, you’ll find yourself in the middle of an adventure that leads from one opportunity to another.

What does “success” look like when you Love Recklessly? A legacy of lives effected and infected from pure heart.  Be Care Full, not careful, and watch your world change as you change theirs.  You will get hurt, there will be tears, but there will also be joy, gratitude, hugs, and healing.  <3